Emma Ficke - Complete Portfolio Page

Years of Experience

across

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Banking + Retail

Complex regulated industries

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Customer + Associate

Multi-stakeholder experiences

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Design + Research Ops

Scalable team processes

What I've Built Over 8 Years

Recent Work

Case studies showcasing user-centered design solutions that drive meaningful business outcomes

Loyalty & Rewards

Kroger Points 2.0

I led the MVP that expanded Kroger's points program beyond fuel, enabling customers to redeem points for money off groceries. This shift made loyalty more relevant to non-drivers and broadened the program's value, creating a foundation for stronger engagement across households.

Design Systems & Innovation

Product Card Componentization

I led the strategic redesign of Kroger's product display system, balancing brand aspirations with customer needs through extensive research. This project established scalable component patterns while pioneering AI-powered design tools, creating a foundation for consistent experiences across platforms.

Dovetail Research Repository

I researched and implemented a Research Repository tool that transformed how 100+ designers across 4 business pillars gather, analyze, and share customer research data. The implementation of Dovetail democratized research findings, enabling data-driven decisions across the organization.

From Team Members

Collaboration Impact

How cross-functional partnerships with product managers, engineers, and designers drive measurable results.

"Utilizing different research methods, Emma was able to hone in on the riskiest assumptions we were making about any problems we faced. She verified or dispelled each assumption using rapid prototyping with customers."

Dan Whiting

Senior Product Manager

"At Kroger, I got to see how much she's grown, not only as a designer and researcher, but as a strategist. She consistently raises the bar for quality across the team."

Stephanie Keller

Senior Product Designer

"She would give great feedback to myself and the other developers. I'd recommend Emma as a designer and/or user experience analyst for any engineering or product related team."

Nathan Jonas

Software Engineer

"What makes Emma stand out is the balance she strikes between creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. She is proactive, thoughtful, and consistently raises the bar for quality across the team."

Jillian Van der Merwe

Advanced Scrum Master

Currently Learning

Staying curious and continuously growing through books, courses, and conversations that challenge my thinking and expand my design perspective.

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Reading

Orchestrating Experiences

By Chris Risdon & Patrick Quattlebaum — exploring collaborative design frameworks for managing complexity in modern digital products.

View on Goodreads

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IxDF Course

AI for Designers

Interaction Design Foundation — learning how to integrate AI tools and methods into design workflows and decision-making processes.

View Course

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IxDF Course

Accessibility: How to Design for All

Interaction Design Foundation — mastering inclusive design principles to create products that work for users of all abilities.

View Course

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Exploring

AI-Assisted Design

Experimenting with ChatGPT for UX research, Claude for design strategy, and AI workflows to enhance design system scalability.

Experiments Coming Soon

I'm Emma Ficke

Recent Work

Kroger Points 2.0

Product Card Componentization

Dovetail Research Repository

Collaboration Impact

Dan Whiting

Stephanie Keller

Nathan Jonas

Jillian Van der Merwe

Currently Learning

Orchestrating Experiences

AI for Designers

Accessibility: How to Design for All

AI-Assisted Design